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Working in a school like Bayside isn't easy. Yet the staff there is happier as a whole than at any other public high school in Pinellas County. They like and trust their principal. They look forward to coming to work. And they believe their colleagues feel the same way, with 81 percent reporting high morale in the school.

Every year, Pinellas County Schools measures morale, along with myriad other issues, in a districtwide "climate survey." While the numbers represent only a snapshot in time, they often offer a broad brush look at the system or intriguing results worth a second look. This year, for instance, employees were happier in elementary schools (53 percent) and high schools (57 percent) than in middle schools (36 percent).

School morale, while important, can be tough to explain. The principal plays a role, as do students and parents. District leadership can influence overall happiness. But so can external forces — and Florida educators have faced a barrage of changes in recent years, from tougher academic standards to budget cuts to major adjustments in how teachers are evaluated and paid.

Superintendent Mike Grego said there's a lot of upheaval in education right now. But he added that, in more than 30 years in public education, he's never seen sky-high morale across a district.

In Osceola County, where he was previously superintendent, Grego said he asked teachers about morale and found that outside problems, such as the economy or a spouse losing a job, added stress, even when they were happy to come to work. "It had an effect," he said.

Patricia LaVoy Fuller, principal of Bayside High, said the results can be a "double-edged sword." A principal can be working hard to improve a school, yet get low marks because change is difficult, she said.

Or, she joked, "The 20 people who don't like me might not have responded."

But survey results also can point to serious problems in schools and the district.

Before former superintendent Julie Janssen was fired, for instance, 27 percent of respondents said they had confidence in her leadership. In his first six months on the job, Grego received high marks, with 86 percent reporting confidence in him.

Just more than half of the 4,126 respondents this year reported high morale at their school. But school-by-school results can be as confusing as they are revealing.

At St. Petersburg High, staff members who took the survey gave principal Al Bennett good marks. They thought parents were involved. The vast majority — 96 percent — said they were "satisfied working at this school." Yet only 35 percent of respondents felt morale was high, making St. Petersburg High third lowest among high schools in that category.

Fundamental schools, which require parental involvement and good student behavior, seem like a recipe for high morale. And, in most cases, they are. But Bay Vista Fundamental Elementary had the lowest morale of the fundamentals, with 47 percent. Despite that, 90 percent of respondents said they looked forward to coming to work.

Bay Vista's morale was on par with Melrose Elementary (48 percent), which is on the state's list of the 100 lowest-performing schools. At Melrose, staffers reported that parents weren't supportive or involved and that students behave poorly. Bay Vista had none of those problems.

Grego said that's why it's important to have conversations with teachers. Area superintendents have been reviewing all of the results, he said, and "it's a distinct part of the principal's review."

He also would like to see more detailed questions in future climate surveys about working conditions. Morale is an imprecise measure, in some ways, but it's also important, he said.

"Everyone wants to be happy to come to work. I think it makes for a more productive employee," he said.

It's important to have a clear mission and goals, he said.

At Boca Ciega High, principal Michael Vigue said "thoughtful, transparent communication" is key, as is "not giving people a million things to worry about." He also said that as Boca Ciega improved academically, state oversight decreased, possibly lessening the stress on employees.

Although Vigue got high marks from his staff — and Boca Ciega had the second highest morale among high schools — he thought the response rate was more telling. More than 100 people filled out the survey at Boca Ciega, far higher than other high schools.

"They recognize that their opinion matters," he said.

Cara Fitzpatrick can be reached at cfitzpatrick@tampabay.com.

Morale in Pinellas schools

In its latest "climate survey," the school district asked about 13,000 school employees to say whether they agreed or disagreed with this statement: "Morale is high in this school."

Fifty-one percent said they agreed; 49 percent disagreed. More than 4,100 employees responded to the survey, which the district says was a large enough sampling to accurately reflect the feelings of all school-based employees. Below are the numbers for all middle and high schools, and the elementary schools that received the highest and lowest morale ratings.

Elementary schoolsTop 10 and bottom 10 schools

Percent of staff who agree morale is high

Bauder

94

Perkins

93

Walsingham

91

Blanton

90

Tarpon Springs Fundamental

89

Cross Bayou

88

Ridgecrest

88

Anona

87

Bay Point

87

Oldsmar

87

Lynch

22

LakewoodElementary

18

McMullen-Booth

18

Belleair

18

Campbell Park

17

Starkey

15

Belcher

14

Ponce de Leon

14

Dunedin

12

Mildred Helms

6

Middle schools

Percent of staff who agree morale is high

ClearwaterFundamental

84

Thurgood Marshall Fundamental

63

Pinellas Secondary

50

Carwise

48

Azalea

42

Bay Point

41

Pinellas Park

38

Seminole

38

Morgan Fitzgerald

37

Safety Harbor

35

Oak Grove

33

Palm Harbor

33

Osceola

30

John Hopkins

29

Tarpon Springs

24

Largo

22

Meadowlawn

20

ClearwaterIntermediate

16

Dunedin Highland

13

Tyrone

10

High schools

Percent of staff who agree morale is high

Bayside

81

Boca Ciega

77

Northeast

77

Palm HarborUniversity

77

Osceola Fundamental

75

Largo

74

Dixie Hollins

69

Clearwater

66

East Lake

66

Lakewood

64

Tarpon Springs

51

Pinellas Park

43

Dunedin

38

Gibbs

38

St. Petersburg

35

Countryside

34

Seminole

18

Ratings for all elementary schools, as well as the entire survey, can be found online. See Links in Today's Times at tampabay.com.